7th Asia-Pacific Conference on Plasma Physics, 12-17 Nov, 2023 at Port Messe Nagoya

Surface Treatment of Kawayan Tinik (Bambusa blumeana) using an
Atmospheric Pressure Plasma SystemBryndell J. Alcantara1, Mark D. Ilasin2, Marlo Nicole R. Gilos3, Magdaleno R. Vasquez Jr.4,*
Department of Mining, Metallurgical, and Materials Engineering, College of Engineering,
University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon Citye-mail (speaker): bjalcantara@up.edu.ph
Recently, the market for wood furniture lost $200
million due to the lack of wood certification provided bythe Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and is projected tocontinue decreasing due to the reduced quantity of wood
resources. Recent studies showed that bamboo, with its
mechanical properties comparable to steel and greaterthan wood and its sustainability with a 3- to 5-year
harvest process, can be a green alternative for thefurniture industry. Although bamboo has many
advantages, using it as a furniture material also hasproblems. Bamboo is vulnerable to mold infestation, its
adhesion strength to water-based adhesives is low, andlastly, it is a flammable material due to its composition.
Surface modification through different processes has
been done to modify the surface properties of a material
and achieve the desired property for different
applications.
Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma (CAPP)
treatment generated by argon (Ar) gas and dry air was
utilized to modify the surface of the bamboo, specifically
Bambusa blumeana (Kawayan Tinik). A computerized
numerical control (CNC) atmospheric pressure plasma(APP) jet system was built to automate the plasma
treatment of the bamboo slats in a raster motion to treat
the surface of the bamboo uniformly. Optical emissionspectrometer (OES) identified the presence of Ar, O2,and N2 peaks. The voltage and current igniting theplasma were also measured at ±4kV and ±50mA,respectively.

.Figure 1. Optical Emission Spectra of the plasma at
different positions along the plume: (a) Ar only, (b)Ar+O2
Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR)
confirmed that the polar groups on the surface of thebamboo were reduced by plasma etching, and theactivation of O-H, or hydroxyl functional groups, wasobserved due to the presence of O2 on the plasma;
therefore, increasing its wettability. Plasma treatment
was effective at converting the bamboo surfaces fromhydrophobic (initial contact angle >77°) to hydrophilic(final contact angle <24°).

Figure 2. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy ofplasma treated and untreated bamboo surface.
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Laser
microscopy revealed that the morphological structure of
the surface of the bamboo increased in roughness due tothe plasma bombardment and etching.

Figure 3. SEM images of (a) untreated bamboo surfaceand (b) 30s treated bamboo surface.
The mechanicalproperties oftheplasma-treated bamboo showed a higher tensile strengththan the untreated bamboo.

Figure 3. SEM images of (a) untreated bamboo surfaceand (b) 30s treated bamboo surface.
The research findings conclude that
atmospheric pressure plasma treatment of bamboo
improved its adhesion properties.
References[1]L. K. Domningo Vasquez M.V. “Effect of AtmosphericPressure Plasma on the sur- face Poroperties of Kawayan Tinik(Bambusa blumeana)”. UP Diliman, DMMME (2018).
[2] M. D. Rosario, M. C. Curit, and M. V. Jr. “Surfaceproperties of RF Plasma treated Bambusa Blumeana schultes”.
UP Diliman, DMMME (2016)